(Above and below) Ashok Ghosal and members of his troupe perform at the Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 10: Odissi dancer Ashok Ghosal and his troupe regaled audiences with two performances at the Rabindra Mandap here on Tuesday evening.

The first performance was a tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his 151st birth anniversary.

Ghosal and his troupe performed a dance recital from one of Tagore’s magnum opus creations.

Fascinated by the light emanating from a glowing lamp, Tagore had penned an epic poem where he requested God to transform him into a lamp.

The poet further said that he is ready to burn his soul and bear the pain as long as he gets the privilege of lighting up the world.

Based on this beautiful poem, Ghosal’s Nrityashala performed a small dance performance.

Ghosal’s attempt to play with the open-ended verses of the poem was dramatic. The soft expressions, as desired in every dance recital depicting any of Tagore's work, perfectly gelled with the choreographer’s composition.

Every bit of the performance had a very “Rabindrik” feel that was immensely welcomed by the audience.

Ghosal concluded the hour-long programme with his second performance — a fine recital on poet Jayadev.

The dance-drama spoke of the immense distress that Jayadev faced while writing the last verses for the epic Gita Govinda.

The scene spoke of Lord Krishna bowing before Radha and expressing his love and asking for forgiveness. Radha, hurt and disturbed at Krishna’s frivolous behaviour, does not pay heed to his pleas.

Finding no other way to sooth Radha’s burning anger, Krishna bows down in front of Radha to seek her clemency. Radha, embarrassed of Krishna’s behaviour, finally buries the hatchet.

Jayadev, a devout of Lord Krishna, found it inappropriate to depict the Lord stooping down in front of Radha. The poet spent the entire day thinking out a way to frame the verse without demeaning the Lord.

Understanding Jayadev’s dilemma, Lord Krishna disguised himself as Jayadev, entered his room and concluded the verse with the lines Dehi padapallabamudaram.

When the poet realised the tricks of his Lord, he was so overjoyed and overwhelmed that he broke into tears.

His wife Padmabati, who had no clue of Jayadev’s sudden change of behaviour, looked startled.

Ghosal and his wife Bandita beautifully presented the entire episode on Jayadev’s life. The emotions of sadness, the feeling of hopelessness and the sudden eruption of joy that concluded with madness were brilliantly executed by the dancers.

The co-dancers of Ghosal’s troupe also knew their steps right and were prefect in their co-ordination.

“I have watched several of Ashok Ghosal’s show. His duet performances with his wife have always been brilliant. I have even watched his Jayadev recital before and I must say the new inclusions in this composition make it classier,” said Twinkle Das, a viewer.